Fluid conveyer, such as a vacuum pump or a compressor



March 22, 1966 E. A. BREUER 3,241,741

SUCH AS A VACUUM PUMP OR A COMPRESSOR FLUID CONVEYER,

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan 51, 1964 INVENTOR E A Baa/2R ATTORNEY:

March 22, 1966 E. A. BREUER 3,241,741

FLUID CONVEYER, SUCH AS A VACUUM PUMP OR A COMPRESSOR Filed Jan. 51, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 5. B n e u 6 ATTORNEZs' March 22, 1966 E. A. BREUER 3,241,741

FLUID CONVEYER, SUCH AS A VACUUM PUMP OR A COMPRESSOR Filed Jan. 31, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR [j A BREuER I BY JIM w ATTORNEYS March 22, 1966 BREUER 3,241,741

FLUID GONVEYER, SUCH AS A VACUUM PUMP OR A COMPRESSOR Filed Jan. 31, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR 9 BREW/E BY JIM ATTORNEY .5

United States Patent 3,241,741 FLUID CONVEYER, SUCH AS A VACUUM PUMP OR A COMPRESSOR Eduardo Augusto Breuer, 1879 Mariano Moreno St.,

Esperanza, Santa Fe, Argentina Filed Jan. 31, 1964, Ser. No. 341,689 Claims. (Cl. 230-79) This invention relates to a fluid conveyor which may operate as a vacuum pump or as a compressor and more particularly it refers to such a conveyer of the rotary type used for suctioning or compressing air or gases in general.

There are a great number of different types of fluid conveyers which provide certain advantages and drawbacks, depending upon the type, but most of them require an outstanding number of movable parts and special means for sealing the different points, subject to possible leakages. This complicates the structural embodiments and besides requires that the power supplied for driving the arrangement is larger than actually necessary, in order to overcome frictions, such as those produced due to the use of stufiing boxes, sealing glands and the like.

The fluid conveyer of the present invention is of extremely simple nature and structure because all the sealings are exclusively of the hydraulic type, whereby the power expenses due to friction are minimized and the structure of its different elements are not of great precision, which reduces the manufacturing cost of the conveyer.

Besides, the pumping action is achieved by means of a liquid which operates as the agent for compressing or suctioning the gas, as the case may be.

Accordingly, the present invention consists in a fluid conveyer of the rotary type, comprising a hollow stationary shaft connectable to a container in which the vacuum is to be produced in case that the fluid conveyer operates as a vacuum pump, and on the other hand, if the fluid conveyer operates as a compressor it will be connected to a reservoir for storing the compressed air or gas. Said fluid conveyer further comprising a substantially cylindrical rotary casing having a first base member, a second base member and a substantially cylindrical wall member, said first base member being rotatably supported by said hollow shaft, sealing means between said first base member and said hollow shaft, said second base member defining an opening, a rotor including a periphery and a rotor plate, said rotor being housed in said casing, a spindle linked to said rotor plate and passing through said opening, the cross section of said spindle being substantially smaller than the area defined by said opening, said spindle being rotatably supported from the outside of said casing, said spindle being eccentrically arranged with regard to said hollow shaft, said rotor defining a plurality of circularly arranged chambers each having a bottom wall and a pair of side walls, one of said side walls being defined by said rotor plate, each chamber being opened towards said periphery of said rotor, weir means for liquid in said casing, the operative height of which liquid substantially corresponds to the bottom walls of said chambers, when said bottom walls are at the shortest possible distance with regard to said cylindrical wall member due to the eccentricity of said rotor with regard to said cylindrical wall member, fluid discharge means in the bottom wall of each of said chambers, said side walls of said chambers formed by said rotor plate defining port openings, liquid supply means for supplying liquid into said casing, and driving means for rotating said casing at a speed to cylindrically arrange due to centrifugal force said liquid against said cylindrical wall and within said casing.

In order to facilitate the comprehension of the present ice invention, reference will now be made to several preferred embodiments by way of example in relationship to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation, partially in section, of a vacuum pump representing one of the possible embodiments of the fluid conveyer, according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-section along line II-II of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation, partially in section, of a modified embodiment of the rotor, having another type of fluid discharge means than in the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross-section along line IV-IV of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a similar view as FIG. 4, of still a further alternative embodiment of the rotor, having another type of fluid discharge means than in the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a side elevation, partially in section, similar to FIG. 1, of a fluid conveyer which operates as a compressor.

As may be seen in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vacuum suction pump according to the present invention comprises a hollow stationary shaft 1 supported by a suitable support 2 mounted on a base frame 41. The hollow shaft 1 comprises an axial perforation 3 closed at the outer side, as identified by 1', while it is open at the opposite side. The hollow shaft 1 is connected to a tubular member 4 which in turn is connected to a container (not shown) within which a vacuum is to be generated by means of the vacuum pump of the present invention. The end of the hollow shaft 1 opposite to the closed end 1 is integral with a disc-like member 5, the purpose of which will be later explained.

The hollow shaft 1 operates as a support for a ball hearing arrangement 6, 7 which rotatably supports a first bushing 8 having formed on the outer side a V-shaped pulley 9. The bushing 8 is integral with a substantially cylindrical rotary casing 14 and more particularly with a first base member 10 thereof. Said rotary casing 14 furthermore comprises a second base member 13 and a substantially cylindrical wall member 11. Said first and second base members 10, 13, are respectively linked to said cylindrical wall member 11 by screws 12, as is well known in the art.

Thus, the rotary casing 14 is rotatably supported by said stationary shaft through said first bushing 8. A V- shaped belt (not shown) to be connected to said V-shaped pulley 9 will therefore be able to turn said rotary casing 14, bearing in mind that obviously such a V-shaped belt would have to be connected to a driving source. It is also possible to directly connect the first bushing 8 to such a driving source (not shown) as will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

Within the rotary casing 14 there is a disc-shaped partition 15 integral with said cylindrical wall member 11. The disc-shaped partition 15 defines a central opening 16 and a plurality of circularly spaced apart slots 17 arranged in an intermediate portion between said central opening 16 and said cylindrical wall member 11. The circle defined by said slots 17 is coaxial with the axis (not shown) of said rotary casing 14 and allows liquid to flow within said casing, as will be later understood.

The second base member 13 of rotary casing 14 defines a circular opening 18 the cross-sectional area of which is sufficient, with room to spare to allow the passage therethrough of a second bushing 19, mounted on a support 42, in turn mounted on the base frame 41.

A spindle 22 is rotatably supported by said second bushing 19 through a pair of ball bearings 20 and 21. Said spindle 22 is integral with a rotor 23 having a ring of circularly spaced chambers 24 defined by a pair of side walls, one of which is formed by the rotor plate 25 While the other is defined by a ring plate 26 and there is furthermore a bottom wall 43 linking the two side plates. The chambers 24 are separated by crosswise arranged radial partitions 27 (see FIG. 2). Thus, each chamber 24 is opened towards the periphery of the rotor or, in other words, facing the cylindrical wall 11. The number of chambers 24 depends of course on the number of partitions 27 and that will be determined in accordance with the requirements of each case. Each of the circularly spaced chambers 24 comprises a port opening 28 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) which is arranged in the rotor plate 25 in a position to be intermediate the pertinent pair of partitions 27.

The bottom wall 43 of each chamber 24 comprises a fluid discharge opening 44 which is controlled by a flapper valve 30. Each valve 30 consists of a disc member 45 housed in a valve housing formed by said bottom wall 43 which also provides a valve seat 46 and a perforated cover plate 47 which is maintained on the valve chamber by means of a spring member 48 one end of which is mounted on a channel 49 formed on the spindle 22, while the other end urges the perforated cover plate 47 against the pertinent seat. In the embodiment as shown, the valve chamber is further connected to the outside by side perforations 50. The flapper valves 30 may be replaced by any other suitable valve arrangement or the like, as will be later apparent, when describing the alternative embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 5.

The second base member 13 is provided with weir means consisting in this embodiment of a pair of diametrically opposed elbow-shaped ducts 29 which are rotatably supported by said second base member 13, for a purpose which will be later explained. Finally, a pipe 31 passes through the closed end 1 into the hollow stationary shaft 1 to enter the rotary casing 14 and ending in the disc-like member 5, in a zone defined between said disc-like member and the first base member 10.

The operation of the fluid conveyer as described in connection with FIGS. 1 and 2, which operates as a vacuum suction pump is started by rotating the rotary casing 14 at the same time as a liquid, such as water, is introduced through pipe 31. The water which enters through pipe 31, as identified by the long arrows 51 will enter the chamber defined between the first base member and the disc-like member 5, pass by the outer periphery of member 5 and the circularly spaced apart slots 17 thereby filling the rotary casing 14 which, bearing in mind that it has to rotate at an adequate speed will provide that the water forms a ring 32 against the inner face of member 11 as shown in FIG. 1, defining a level ring 33 which is determined by the elbow shaped ducts 29. Since these ducts 29 may be rotated to change their position, the height of the level ring 33 may be graduated at will. At the same time the rotary movement of the liquid dragged along by the rotary movement of wall member 11 starts to rotate rotor 23, which thus is hydraulically coupled to the casing 14.

If desired it would be possible to drive rotor 23 by a direct drive such as by driving spindle 22.

In the chambers 24 which are located in the upper portion as shown in the drawings, the liquid completely fills the chambers while those chambers which are in the lower portion have a space 34 arranged between level ring 33 and bottom wall 43, into which enters the air, coming from tubular member 4, through port opening 28. Attention is also directed to FIG. 2, where level ring 33 is shown in dotted lines. As the chambers 24 approach the upper portion, the air housed in space 34 is being compressed and a moment will come when said air is expelled through fluid discharge opening 44, separating from valve seat 46. Thus the air passes through open valve seat 46 and perforated cover plate 47, to finally leave the rotary casing 14 through 'circular opening 18. When that same chamber 24 free of air reaches again the lower portion, the re-created space 34 is a vacuum space, whereby a suctional force will be generated which again draws in air coming from tubular member 4, as previously explained. Obviously, circular opening 18 can be connected to a suitable collector (not shown) if this should be desired.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art, that the disc-like member 5, which enters ring 32 operates as a hydraulic seal, whereby the system is suitably sealed, so that the air entering axial perforation 3 will follow the path as indicated by the short arrows 52, as just described.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the same reference numerals as in FIGS. 1 and 2 have been used, but preceded by the prefix to identify similar or like parts.

In this embodiment the flapper valves 30 have been replaced by spiral tubes 135. Each spiral tube ends in the bottom wall 143 on one end, and the free end such as end 137 is located within approximately therefrom, so that when said free end 137 is in the upper position, it is housed within the liquid which thereby establishes a hydraulic seal, while when said free end 137 is in the lower position, it allows the exit of the compressed air or gas from the upper chamber. In other words, each spiral tube 135 is so arranged that the free end 137 is at approximately 180 with regard to its bottom wall 143, and at a greater radial distance with regard to the axis of said rotor as compared with the radial distance existing between said axis and said bottom wall 143. As to the rest, this embodiment operates in exactly the same way as the previously described one of FIGS. 1 and 2.

In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the only alternative with regard to the embodiment of FIG. 4 is that the free ends 137' end outside the casing 114 and may be housed in an additional chamber, 139 formed by a cover plate 38 and the second base member 113.

Finally, with regard to the embodiment as shown in FIG. 6, wherein the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1 have been used, but are preceded by the prefix 200 the arrangement is reversed, so as to operate as a compressor.

The only structural difference which the compressor of FIG. 6 has, with regard to the vacuum pump of FIGS. 1 and 2, is that the rotor 223 and ring plate 226 are reversed, so that the port openings 228 operate as suction port openings, whereby the air is suctioned through circular opening 218, port openings 228 and expelled through the valves 230 in the direction as indicated by short arrows 252, to be finally expelled as compressed air through tubular member 204.

Although water is preferably used as a sealing liquid, it is obvious that any other liquid can be employed if so preferred.

I claim:

1. A fluid conveyer of the rotary type comprising a hollow stationary shaft connectable to outside the conveyer, a substantially cylindrical rotary casing having a first base member, a second base member and a substantially cylindrical wall member, said first base member being rotatably supported by said hollow shaft, sealing means between said first base member and said hollow shaft, said second base member defining an opening, a rotor including a periphery and a rotor plate, said rotor being housed in said casing, a spindle linked to said rotor plate and passing through said opening, the cross-section of said spindle being substantially smaller than the area defined by said opening, said spindle being rotatably supported from the outside of said casing, said spindle being eccentrically arranged with regard to said hollow shaft, said rotor defining a plurality of circularly arranged cham bers each having a bottom wall and a pair of side walls, one of said side walls being defined by said rotor plate, each chamber being opened towards said periphery of said rotor, weir means for liquid in said casing, the op-- erative height of which liquid substantially corresponds. to the bottom walls of said chambers, when said bottom walls are at the shortest possible distance with regard to said cylindrical wall member due to the eccentricity of said rotor with regard to said cylindrical wall member, fluid discharge means in the bottom wall of each of said chambers, said side walls of said chambers formed by said rotor plate defining port openings, liquid supply means for supplying liquid into said casing, said rotary casing housing a liquid, and driving means for rotating said casing at a speed to cylindrically arrange due to centrifugal force said liquid against said cylindrical wall and within said casing, said liquid and the periphery of the rotor forming a compression chamber, said fluid discharge means in the bottom wall of each of said chambers consisting in a flapper valve mounted on said bottom wall and facing towards said spindle, said bottom wall defining a valve seat, said fiapper valve including a disc member adapted to close said valve seat and a perforated cover plate-mounted on said bottom wall and imprisoning said disc member, a spring member having a first end and a second end, said first end abutting against said perforated cover plate and said second end abutting against said spindle, thereby maintaining said perforated cover plate in place.

2. A fluid conveyer of the rotary type comprising ahollow stationary shaft connectable to outside the conveyer, a substantially cylindrical rotary casing having a first base member, a second base member and a substantially cylindrical wall member having an inner face, said first base member being rotatably supported by said hollow shaft, sealing means between said first base member and said hollow shaft, said sealing means consisting in a disc-like member integral with said hollow shaft and housed in said casing, adjacent but spaced apart from said first base member, said disc-like member having a periphery, the periphery of said disc-like member being adjacent said inner face of said cylindrical wall member, said second base member defining an opening, a rotor including a periphery and a rotor plate, said rotor being housed in said casing, a spindle linked to said rotor plate and passing through said opening, the cross-section of said spindle being substantially smaller than the area defined by said opening, said spindle being rotatably supported from the outside of said casing, said spindle being eccentrically arranged with regard to said hollow shaft, said rotor defining a plurality of circularly arranged chambers each having a bottom wall and a pair of sidewalls, one of said side walls being defined by said rotor plate, each chamber being opened towards said periphery of said rotor, weir means for liquid in said casing, the operative height of which liquid substantially corresponds to the bottom walls of said chambers, when said bottom walls are at the shortest possible distance with regard to said cylindrical wall member due to the eccentricity of said rotor with regard to said cylindrical wall member, fluid discharge means in the bottom wall of each of said chambers, said side walls of said chambers formed by said rotor plate defining port openings, liquid supply means for supplying liquid into said casing, said rotary casing housing a liquid, and driving means for rotating said casing at a speed to cylindrically arrange due to centrifugal force said liquid against said cylindrical wall within said casing, said liquid and the periphery of the rotor forming a compression chamber, said substantially cylindrical wall member being integral with a disc-shaped partition arranged between said disc-like member and said second base member, said rotor being housed in said casing between said disc-shaped partition and said second base member, said disc-shaped partition defining a central opening and a plurality of circularly spaced apart slots surrounding said central openmg.

3. A vacuum pump of the rotary type comprising a hollow stationary shaft connectable to a container in which the vacuum is to be produced, a substantially cylindrical rotary casing having a first base member, a second base member and a substantially cylindrical wall member, said first base member being rotatably supported by said hollow shaft, sealing means between said first base member and said hollow shaft, said second base member defining an opening, a rotor including a periphery and a rotor plate, said rotor being housed in said casing, a spindle linked to said rotor plate and passing through said opening, the cross-section of said spindle being substantially smaller than the area defined by said opening, said spindle being rotatably supported from the outside of said casing, said spindle being eccentrically arranged with regard to said hollow shaft, said rotor defining a plurality of circularly arranged chambers each having a bottom wall and a pair of side walls, one of said side Walls being defined by said rotor plate, a disc-shaped partition integral with said cylindrical wall member separating said sealing means from said rot-or, said disc shaped partition defining a central opening and a plurality of circularly spaced apart slots surrounding said central opening, the other of said side walls being a ring plate integral with said bottom wall, each chamber being opened towards said periphery of said rotor, weir means for liquid in said casing, the operative height of which liquid substantially corresponds to the bottom walls of said chambers, when said bottom walls are at the shortest possible distance with regard to said cylindrical wall member due to the eccentricity of said rotor with regard to said cylindrical wall member, fluid discharge means in the bottom wall of each of said chambers, said side walls of said chambers formed by said rotor plate defining port openings facing said disc shaped partition, said ring plate facing said second base member, liquid supply means for supplying liquid into said casing, said rotary casing housing a liquid, and driving means for rotating said casing at a speed to cylindrically arrange due to centrifugal force said liquid against said cylindrical wall within said casing, said liquid and the periphery of the rotor forming a compression chamber.

4. A compressor of the rotary type comprising a hollow stationary shaft, a tubular member connected to said ho-llow stationary shaft and connectable to a deposit for storing the compressed air, a substantially cylindrical rotary casing having a first base member, a second base member and a substantially cylindrical wall member, said first base member being rotatably supported by said hollow shaft, sealing means between said first base member and said hollow shaft, said second base member defining an opening, a rotor including a periphery and a rotor plate, said rotor being housing in said casing, a spindle linked to said rotor plate and passing through said opening, the crosssection of said spindle being substantially smaller than the area defined by said opening, said spindle being rotatably supported from the outside of said casing, said spindle being eccentrically arranged with regard to said hollow shaft, said rotor defining a plurality of circularly arranged chambers each having a bottom wall and a pair of side walls, one of said side walls being defined by said rotor plate, a disc shaped partition integral with said cylindrical wall member separating said sealing means from said rotor, said disc shaped partition defining a central opening and plurality of circularly spaced apart slots surrounding said central opening, the other of said side walls being a ring plate integral with said bottom wall, each chamber being opened towards said periphery of said rotor, weir means for liquid in said casing, the operative height of which liquid substantially corresponds to the bottom walls of said chambers, when said bottom walls are at the shortest possible distance with regard to said cylindrical wall member due to the eccentricity of said rotor with regard to said cylindrical wall member, fluid discharge means in the bottom wall of each of said chambers, said side walls of said chambers formed by said rotor plate defining port openings, said port openings of said rotor plate and said rotor plate facing said second base member, said ring plate facing said disc-shaped partition, liquid supply means for supplying liquid into said casing, said rotary casing housing a liquid, and driving means for rotating said casing at a speed to cylindrically arrange due to centrifugal force said liquid against said cylindrical wall Within said casing, said liquid and the periphery of the rotor forming a compression chamber.

5. A fluid conveyer of the rotary type comprising a hollow stationary shaft connectable to outside the conveyer, a substantially cylindrical rotary casing having a first base member, a second base member and a substantially cylindrical wall member, said first base member being rotatably supported by said hollow shaft, sealing means between said first base member and said hollow shaft, said second base member defining an opening, a rotor including a periphery and a rotor plate, said rotor being housed in said casing, a spindle linked to said rotor plate and passing through said opening, the cross-section of said spindle being substantially smaller than the area defined by said opening, said spindle being rotatably supported from the outside of said casing, said spindle being eccentrically arranged with regard to said hollow shaft, said rotor defining a plurality of circularly arranged chambers each having a bottom wall and a pair of side walls, one of said side walls being defined by said rotor plate, each chamber being opened towards said periphery of said rotor, weir means for liquid in said casing, the operative height of which liquid substantially corresponds to the bottom walls of said chambers, when said bottom walls are at the shortest possible distance with regard to said cylindrical wall member due to the eccentricity of said rotor with regard to said cylindrical wall member, fluid discharge means in the bottom wall of each of said chambers, said side walls of said chambers formed by said rotor plate defining port openings, liquid supply means for supplying liquid into said casing, said rotary casing housing a liquid, driving means for rotating said casing at a speed to cylindrically arrange due to centrifugal force said liquid against said cylindrical wall and within said casing, said liquid and the periphery of the rotor forming a compression chamber, said rotor having an axis, said fluid discharge means in the bottom wall of each of said chambers consisting in a spiral tube ending in said bottom wall and having a free end arranged at approximately with regard to said bottom Wall and at a greater radial distance with regard to the axis of said rotor as compared with the radial distance existing between said axis and said bottom wall, each of said spiral tubes passing through said opening of said second base member ending outside said second base member, and an additional cover plate linked to said second base member and housing the free end of each of said spiral tubes between said second base member and said additional cover plate.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,233,581 7/1917 Johnston 23079 1,262,533 5/1918 McFarlane 23079 1,281,972 10/1918 Johnston 23079 1,313,700 8/1919 King 23079 1,656,728 1/1928 De Lony 230 79 1,668,532 5/1928 Stewart 23079 FOREIGN PATENTS 121,519 12/1918 Great Britain.

SAMUEL LEVINE, Primary Examiner.

DONLEY J. STOCKING, Examiner.

W. L. FREEH, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A FLUID CONVEYER OF THE ROTARY TYPE COMPRISING A HOLLOW STATIONARY SHAFT CONNECTABLE TO OUTSIDE THE CONVEYER, A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL ROTARY CASING HAVING A FIRS BASE MEMBER, A SECOND BASE MEMBER AND A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL WALL MEMBER, SAID FIRST BASE MEMBER BEING ROTATABLY SUPPORTED BY SAID HOLLOW SHAFT, SEALING MEANS BETWEEN SAID FIRST BASE MEMBER AND SAID HOLLOW SHAFT, SAID SECOND BASE MEMBER DEFINING AN OPENING, A ROTOR INCLUDING A PERIPHERY AND A ROTOR PLATE, SAID ROTOR BEING HOUSED IN SAID CASING, A SPINDLE LINKED TO SAID ROTOR PLATE AND PASSING THROUGH SAID OPENING, THE CROSS-SECTION OF SAID SPINDLE BEING SUBSTANTIALLY SMALLER THAN THE AREA DEFINED BY SAID OPENING, SAID SPINDLE BEING ROTATABLY SUPPORTED FROM THE OUTSIDE OF SAID CASING, SAID SPINDLE BEING ECCENTRICALLY ARRANGED WITH REGARD TO SAID HOLLOW SHAFT, SAID ROTOR DEFINING A PLURALITY OF CIRCULARLY ARRANGED CHAMBERS EACH HAVING A BOTTOM WALL AND A PAIR OF SIDE WALLS, ONE OF SAID SIDE WALLS BEING DEFINED BY SAID ROTOR PLATE, EACH CHAMBER BEING OPENED TOWARDS SAID PERIPHERY OF SAID ROTOR, WEIR MEANS FOR LIQUID IN SAID CASING, THE OPERATIVE HEIGHT OF WHICH LIQUID SUBSTANTIALLY CORRESPONDS TO THE BOTTOM WALLS OF SAID CHAMBERS, WHEN SAID BOTTOM WALLS ARE AT THE SHORTEST POSSIBLE DISTANCE WITH REGARD TO SAID CYLINDRICAL WALL MEMBER DUE TO THE ECCENTRICITY OF SAID ROTOR WITH REGARD TO SAID CYLINDRICAL WALL MEMBER, FLUID DISCHARGE MEANS IN THE BOTTOM WALL OF EACH OF SAID CHAMBERS, SAID SIDE WALLS OF SAID CHAMBERS FORMED BY SAID ROTOR PLATE DEFINING PORT OPENINGS, LIQUID SUPPLY MEANS FOR SUPPLYING LIQUID INTO SAID CASING, SAID ROTATY CASING 